Work - Volume 51, issue 4

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WORK: A Journal of Prevention, Assessment & Rehabilitation is an interdisciplinary, international journal which publishes high quality peer-reviewed manuscripts covering the entire scope of the occupation of work. The journal's subtitle has been deliberately laid out: The first goal is the prevention of illness, injury, and disability. When this goal is not achievable, the attention focuses on assessment to design client-centered intervention, rehabilitation, treatment, or controls that use scientific evidence to support best practice.
WORK occasionally publishes thematic issues, but in general, issues cover a wide range of topics such as ergonomic considerations with children, youth and students, the challenges facing an aging workforce, workplace violence, injury management, performing artists, ergonomic product evaluations, and the awareness of the political, cultural, and environmental determinants of health related to work.

Dr. Karen Jacobs, the founding editor, and her editorial board especially encourage the publication of research studies, clinical practice, case study reports, as well as personal narratives and critical reflections of lived work experiences (autoethnographic/autobiographic scholarship),
Sounding Board commentaries and
Speaking of Research articles which provide the foundation for better understanding research to facilitate knowledge dissemination.
Narrative Reflections on Occupational Transitions, a new column, is for persons who have successfully transitioned into, between, or out of occupations to tell their stories in a narrative form. With an internationally renowned editorial board,
WORK maintains high standards in the evaluation and publication of manuscripts. All manuscripts are reviewed expeditiously and published in a timely manner.
WORK prides itself on being an author-friendly journal.

WORK celebrates its 25th anniversary in 2015.

*WORK is affiliated with the Canadian Association of Occupational Therapists (CAOT)**WORK is endorsed by the International Ergonomics Association (IEA)**WORK gives out the yearly Cheryl Bennett Best Paper Award*

Abstract: BACKGROUND: Musculoskeletal disorders are one of the most common work-related diseases. Frequently this association is thought to have a temporal cause-effect relation. The absence of accessible diagnostic criteria and ethological cause-effect demonstration are probably important reasons for the lack of good evidence data on these pathologies. OBJECTIVE: For these reasons, the authors aim to present a systematic review on prevalence and incidence of the upper limb WRMSD. METHODS: The survey was conducted for papers published between January 1st, 2000 and July 2012, according to the PRISMA statement (2009) guidelines. RESULTS: From…the 2016 papers obtained, 94 met the qualitative selection criteria. From these 27 address upper-limb WRMSD, and 17 present data on prevalence or incidence on upper-limb musculoskeletal diseases, six of them with a control group. Annual incidence ranges from 0.08 to 6.3, and prevalence from 0.14 to 14.9. Rotator cuff syndrome among shoe industry workers, present the highest incidence, and cubital, radial or ulnar nerve entrapment, the highest prevalence among a miscellaneous group of workers. CONCLUSIONS: More studies are needed to clarify the relation between work and WRMSD's, especially prospective investigations from different economic sectors and work activities, but with similar, reproducible and comparable methodologies.
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Abstract: BACKGROUND: Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) are diseases of high prevalence. The extent to which our work is causing or aggravating them is still questioned because their causes are heterogeneous and usually combined in the same person, and can be attributed to any of them. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this paper is to compare Spain with the rest of Europe concerning MSDs. METHODS: The study is based on a comparison between Spanish and European data. The difficulty is that the lists of occupational diseases in the various States of the European Union (EU) are different, and…therefore it is difficult to compare data. The study compares two types of data: the views of workers, and the official results of workplace accidents. In the first case, the results of the VII Spanish National Survey of Working Conditions were compared to the V European Working Conditions Survey. In the second case, we compare accident data, published by the Spanish Labour Authorities, to data provided by Eurostat (Statistical Office of the European Communities). RESULTS: During the development of this study, we have proved the importance and significance of MSDs on the Spanish working population in relation to the European one. First, we have discovered a great difference between Spanish and European workers views about the relationship between work and heath. Then, we detected some more important ergonomics risk factors within the Spanish workforces' opinions. These are repetitive movements, tiring positions, and exposure to vibrations. However concerning heavy loads, lifting or moving people, the views of Spanish workers are more carefree than European ones. If we only consider the official results of workplace accidents and diseases, we find Spanish rates higher than the European average. CONCLUSIONS: The incidence of MSDs on the Spanish working population significantly exceeds European records in this matter. MSDs account for between 35-40% of Work Accidents and between 70-88% of Occupational Diseases in Spain so, we can see why Spain has one of the top Occupational Accidents rates in Europe. Spain should try to improve this issue by concentrating only on three factors: repetitive work of upper extremities, tiring positions and exposure to vibrations.
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Abstract: BACKGROUND: Nurses constitute a professional group associated with a high risk of work related musculoskeletal disorders (WRMSDs). Several studies concerning to nurses reveal that they have high prevalence rates of injuries and also of symptoms associated to WRMSDs, mainly in the back. Tasks involving patient handling are those which most often arise associated to back pain. There is a scarcity of studies on WRMSDs in home care nurses. OBJECTIVE: Based on these concerns, the main goals of the present study were to identify the main risk factors of WRMSDs for home care nurses and to perform…an objective assessment of the risk for these professionals. METHODS: Two methods to quantify the risk of WRMSDs associated with nursing activities were applied: REBA - Rapid Entire Body Assessment and MAC - Manual Handling Assessment Charts. REBA and MAC methods were applied to patient handling activities and to tasks involving manual material handling, respectively. RESULTS: The results indicate the presence of multiple risk factors and their important contribution to the risk level obtained: generally moderate but considered high for some activities. CONCLUSIONS: Home care nursing has specific characteristics, which clearly influence the adoption of risk behaviors by the nurses.
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Abstract: BACKGROUND: Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) are a common reason for health problems and sick leave in many professions. A work arena where MSDs have not been sufficiently studied is stable work. Here many heavy and repetitive work tasks are performed manually with old-fashioned working tools. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to use an analytical approach to identify, evaluate and grade ergonomic problems in physical work performed during daily activities in horse stables and relate these to MSDs among the workers and to the design of the tools. METHODS: Three common work tasks were…studied to identify, evaluate and grade ergonomic problems; mucking out, sweeping and bedding replacement. Used methods were Hierarchical Task Analysis, Heuristic Evaluation and Rapid Entire Body Assessment. RESULTS: Several high-risk operations were found in mucking out boxes and disposal of bedding material. The problems consisted of awkward working postures such as a twisted and bent back, arms in an elevated position, wrists in extreme joint positions and handling of heavy loads. CONCLUSIONS: By using an analytical approach it is possible to identify presumptive ergonomic problems without extensive empirical research. In most high-risk operations, long-shafted tools or a wheelbarrow were used, which emphasize a need to develop tools with better ergonomic design to improve the working situation. The limitation is that the ergonomics problems found are not finally validated. The results show where deeper empirical research is needed, both regarding how MSDs occur and how tools and environment contribute to physical problems.
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Abstract: BACKGROUND: Plastering activities can involve exposure to Work-Related Musculoskeletal Disorder (WRMSD) risk factors that are an intrinsic part of a plasterer's daily work. Exposure can be assessed by recording perceptions of symptoms of discomfort during work. OBJECTIVE: To record a sample of plasterers' self-reported perceptions of discomfort to identify temporal patterns and to investigate whether work-break patterns and some task demands influence the intensity levels of their discomfort. METHODS: Eighteen experienced plasterers indicated their level of perceived discomfort for 10 body-parts four times a day for five consecutive workdays using a Body Part Discomfort…Survey (BPDS) containing a body map, Visual Analogue Discomfort Scales (VADS) and questionnaires to provide information about their working activities over the duration of the assessment. RESULTS: Plasterers experienced discomfort in all body parts assessed with symptoms increasing over the working day and week and declining after periods of rest i.e. after lunch and overnight. Task activities and standing platforms used influenced the patterns of discomfort intensity CONCLUSIONS: Plasterers in this group experience greater physical strain with infrequent work/break patterns, or when carrying out the same activity or using a single standing platform for prolonged periods.
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Abstract: BACKGROUND: The identification of hazards or risk factors at the workplace level is a crucial procedure to the risk identification, risk analysis and risk evaluation. OBJECTIVE: This article presents a hazard or risk factors taxonomy, to be applied at the workplace level, during the systematic hazards identification. METHODS: The taxonomy was based on evidences literature, including technical documents, standards, regulations, good-practice documents and toxicology databases. RESULTS: The taxonomy was organized as a matrix (Risk Factors-Disorders Matrix), an extensive list of occupational hazards. Hazards were organized in terms of the potential individual dominant…consequences: in terms of accidents (injuries), occupational disease and negative social, mental or physical well-being (like dissatisfaction and discomfort complaints not resulting from injuries or diseases symptomatology). The specific hazards in each work context were characterized by three summary tables: (1) Accidents-Risk Factors Table, (2) Diseases-Risk Factors Table and (3) Negative Well-being-Risk Factors Table. CONCLUSIONS: Risk factors are coded according to the Risk Factors-Disorders Matrix and the dominant potential disorders are identified in the Risk Factors Tables. The inclusion of individual, psychosocial, emerging and combined hazards in the Matrix, contributes to focusing the risk identification in non-traditional sources of risk during risk assessment procedures.
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Abstract: Working with multiple contractors in a shared workplace can introduce and increase safety risks due to complexity. The aim of this study was to explore how safety issues are recognized in a specific case and to identify whether clients and contractors perceive problems similarly. The safety issues are explored through a brief survey and a workshop in the maintenance department of a logistics company. The results indicate that culture and behavior are recognized differently by clients and by contractors. The contractors and client had different perceptions of involvement of contractors by the client. The contractors complained on lack of involvement,…which was not fully recognized by the client. The case study used a practical approach to show differences in perception of safety within a project. The study illustrates the need for more applied studies and interventions on contractor safety.
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Abstract: BACKGROUND: The construction sector has presented positive development regarding the decrease in occupational accident rates in recent years. Regardless, the construction sector stands out systematically from other industries due to its high number of fatalities. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this paper is to deeply understand the causality of construction accidents from the early design phase through a model. METHODS: This study reviewed several research papers presenting various analytical models that correlate the contributing factors to occupational accidents in this sector. This study also analysed different construction projects and conducted a survey of design and…site supervision teams. RESULTS: This paper proposes a model developed from the analysis of existing ones, which correlates the causal factors through all the construction phases. CONCLUSIONS: It was concluded that effective risk prevention can only be achieved by a global correlation of causal factors including not only production ones but also client requirements, financial climate, design team competence, project and risk management, financial capacity, health and safety policy and early planning. Accordingly, a model is proposed.
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Abstract: BACKGROUND: Technological innovations in mining equipment have led to increased productivity and occupational health and safety (OHS) performance, but their introduction also brings new risks for workers. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study is to provide support for mining industry managers who are required to reconcile equipment choices with OHS and productivity. METHODS: Examination of the literature through interdisciplinary digital databases. Databases were searched using specific combinations of keywords and limited to studies dating back no farther than 1992. The ``snowball'' technique was also used to examining the references listed in…research articles initially identified with the databases. RESULTS: A total of 19 contextual factors were identified as having the potential to influence the OHS and productivity leverage of equipment innovations. The most often cited among these factors are the level of training provided to the equipment operators, operator experience and age, supervisor leadership abilities, and maintaining good relations within work crews. CONCLUSIONS: Interactions between these factors are not discussed in mining innovation literature. It would be helpful to use a systems thinking approach which incorporates interaction between relevant actors and factors to define properly the most sensitive aspects of innovation management as it applies to mining equipment.
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